UC Research Profile - University of Canterbury

Dr Mary Wiles

Contact

Department: English

Email: mary.wiles@canterbury.ac.nz

Direct Dial: +64 3 3694361

Office: Karl Popper 607

Languages: English, French

About

Research / Creative works

Networks

Projects

Methods & Equipment

Fields of Research

Feminism
Film
French New Wave
Queer theory
Theatricality

Researcher Summary

My primary area of research involves the study of continental film theory and postwar French cinema. My recent book, Jacques Rivette (Illinois UP, 2012), is an auteur study that focuses on theatricality in the films of this important French New Wave filmmaker. I have also published articles on avant-garde theatricality and adaptation in contemporary French and New German cinemas.

I have recently developed an interest in New Zealand film, with particular focus on the representation of women. In 2011, I curated a retrospective of Gaylene Preston's work at Te Papa Tongarewa, Museum of New Zealand, and edited a collection of essays devoted to her films. My current research focuses on the manner in which the coming-of-age narrative of girlhood overlaps with themes of race and nationalism in films from around the world.

Subject Area: Disciplines

Cultural Studies: Visual Culture
Sociology, Social Policy, Social Work, Criminology and Gender Studies: Gender & Sexuality
Theatre and Dance, Film and Television and Multimedia: Film
Cinema Studies: Cinema Studies

Resources

Staff webpage

Research/Scholarly/Creative Works

Authored Books

Wiles MM. (2012) Jacques Rivette. Springfield: University of Illinois Press. 208pp.

Edited Volumes

Wiles MM (Ed.) (2017) Special Commemorative Issue: Jacques Rivette and Chris Marker http://issue12.thecine-files.com/. The Cine-Files (12)Savannah, GA, USA.

Chapters

Wiles M. (2021) Marcel Ophuls: Rapporteur, Raconteur, Provocateur. In Abecassis M; Block M (Ed.), French Directors: Portraits de Cinéastes Dublin Ireland: Phaeton Publishing Limited.

Wiles MM. (2016) Moving Backstage. In Nield A (Ed.), The Jacques Rivette Collection: 8-26. Shenley: Arrow Academy.

Wiles MM. (2015) The Film Portrait of a New Zealand Storyteller: Gaylene Preston's 'Home by Christmas'. In Goldsmith B; Ryan MD; Lealand G (Ed.), Directory of World Cinema: Australia and New Zealand 2: 259-265. Bristol: Intellect.

Wiles M. (2007) Narrating the Feminine Nation: The Coming-of-Age Girl in Contemporary New Zealand Cinema. In Shary T; Seibel A (Ed.), Youth Culture in Global Cinema: 175-188. Austin: University of Texas Press.

Wiles MM. (2002) Sounding Out the Operatic: Jacques Rivette's "Noroit". In Joe J; Theresa R (Ed.), Between Opera and Cinema: 199-222. New York: Routledge.

Wiles MM. (2000) The Fascination of the Lesbian Fetish: A Perverse Possibility across the Body of Dorothy Allison's "Bastard Out of Carolina". In Thomas C (Ed.), Straight With a Twist: Queer Theory and the Subject of Heterosexuality: 146-162. Chicago: University of Illinois Press.

Journal Articles

Wiles MM. (2017) 'Scenes from a Parallel Life': Jacques Rivette and Marguerite Duras. The Cine-Files (12): 27.

Wiles MM. (2016) From the Brontëan Text to the Tableaux: Jacques Rivette's 'Hurlevent'. Senses of Cinema (79).

Wiles MM. (2012) The film portrait of a New Zealand storyteller: Gaylene Preston's HOME BY CHRISTMAS. Illusions 43/44; September 2012: 8-12.

Wiles M. (2011) L'amour fou: A Revolution in Realism, Reflexivity, and Oneiric Reverie. Senses of Cinema 61.

Wiles M. (2010) In "Permanent Revolution": Jacques Rivette's Out 1: Noli me tangere. Australian Journal of French Studies XLVII(2): 146-159.

Wiles MM. (2001) Re-staging the Feminine in Jacques Rivette’s "Haut bas fragile" (1995). Studies in French Cinema 1(2): 98-107.

Conference Contributions - Other

Wiles MM. (2018) The Movement and Music of Céline Sciamma's BANDE DE FILLES. Toronto, Canada: Society for Cinema and Media Studies Annual Conference, 13-18 Mar 2018.

Wiles MM. (2017) Duras and Rivette: Their Friendship, Their Films. Arts Centre, University of Canterbury, Christchurch: Séminaire inter-universitaire des Études françaises en Nouvelle-Zélande, 7-8 Dec 2017.

Wiles MM. (2016) Scenes from Parallel Lives: Marguerite Duras and Jacques Rivette. University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia: Colloque International: "Marguerite Duras et les Arts", 29 Jun-1 Jul 2016.

Wiles MM. (2015) BOYHOOD: A Coming-of-Age Story. San Antonio, TX, USA: 62nd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 26-31 Oct 2015.

Wiles MM. (2015) Memory and Place in Vincent Ward's A STATE OF SIEGE (1978) and VIGIL (1984). Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Australia: The XVIIth Film and History Association of Australia and New Zealand (FHAANZ) Conference, 1-3 Jul 2015.

Wiles MM. (2015) Reimagining Frame: Memory and Place in Vincent Ward's A STATE OF SIEGE. Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand: Memory Research In Aotearoa/New Zealand Symposium, 12-12 Dec 2015.

Wiles MM. (2014) Coming-of-Age on the Cusp of History: Olivier Assayas's APRÈS MAI. Melbourne, Australia: 22nd Colloque of the Australian Society of French Studies, 3-6 Dec 2014.

Wiles MM. (2013) The Film Portrait of a New Zealand Storyteller: Gaylene Preston's HOME BY CHRISTMAS. Chicago, IL USA: Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference (SCMS), 6-10 Mar 2013.

Preston G., Wiles M., Harding B. and Shepard D. (2011) Round Table Discussion: Gaylene Preston and Guests. Te Papa, Wellington, New Zealand: Gaylene Preston Film Retrospective, 22-24 Oct 2011.

Wiles MM. (2011) The Film Portrait of a New Zealand Storyteller: Gaylene Preston's HOME BY CHRISTMAS. Te Papa, Wellington, New Zealand: Gaylene Preston Film Retrospective, 23-23 Oct 2011.

Wiles M. (2010) Moving on from Downstage and the 1960s Radio Play: The Resonant Theatricality of Jane Campion's 'A Girl's Own Story'. Los Angeles, CA, USA: SCMS@50/LA: Archiving the Future/Mobilizing the Past, 17-21 Mar 2010.

Wiles M. (2009) An academic approach to genre. Christchurch, New Zealand: In Media, 28 Sep-2 Oct 2009.

Wiles MM. (2009) Workshop: Reading Media Texts. Christchurch, New Zealand: In Media, 28 Sep-2 Oct 2009.

Wiles M. (2008) From Historical Moment to Existential Myth: A Fait Divers in Jacques Rivette's Paris nous appartient. Dunedin, New Zealand: XIVth Biennial Conference of the Film and History Association of Australia and New Zealand, 27-30 Nov 2008.

Wiles M. (2007) Seductive Doubles: The Contemporary French Cinema of Catherine Breillat and Eric Zonka. Chicago, IL USA: Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) Annual Conference, 8-11 Mar 2007.

Wiles M. (2006) Julie Dash's 'Daughters of the Dust': The Gendering and Genesis of a Black Cinematic Aesthetic. Melbourne, Australia: XIIIth Biennial Conference of the Film and History Association of Australia and New Zealand, 16-19 Nov 2006.

Wiles M. (2006) Narrating the Feminine Nation: The Coming-of-Age Girl in Contemporary New Zealand Cinema. Vancouver, Canada: 2006 Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) Conference: Media and the Americas, 2-5 Mar 2006.

Wiles M. (2006) Surveying Suburban and Panoramic Perspectives: Theatricality in the Early Films of Jane Campion. Dunedin, New Zealand: Jane Campion: Cinema, Nation, Identity, 6-9 Dec 2006.

Wiles M. (2006) Workshop: Youth Culture in Global Cinema. Vancouver, Canada: 2006 Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) Conference: Media and the Americas, 2-5 Mar 2006.

Wiles M. (2004) Lethal Performances: The Origins of the Execution Film in an 'Electric Century'. Singapore: PSi10 "Perform: State: Interrogate" - Performance Studies International Annual Conference, 15 Jun 2004.

Wiles M. (2003) Lethal Performances: The Origins of the Execution Film in an Electric Century. Christchurch, New Zealand: CSAA Annual Conference - Culture Incorporated - Bodies, Technologies, Habitats, 6 Dec 2003.

Wiles M. (2003) Shame and the Crisis in Male Subjectivity: Laurent Cantet's L'Emploi du Temps. Minneapolis, MN, USA: 2003 Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference, 6 Mar 2003.

Wiles M. (2001) French Film et les femmes françaises: Restaging the Feminine in Jacques Rivette's "Haut bas fragile". Washington, DC, USA: 2001 Society for Cinema and Media Studies Conference, 24 May 2001.

Wiles MM. (2001) Disability and Disavowal in Léos Carax's Cinéma du Look: A Disabling Postmodern Discourse? New Orleans, LA, USA: Modern Language Association, 27 Dec 2001.

Wiles MM. (2000) Sounding Out the Operatic in Jacques Rivette's Noroît. Tallahassee, FL, USA: "On the Edge of Time": The 25th Annual Conference on Literature and Film, 27 Jan 2000.

Scholarly Editions/Literary Translations

Wiles M. and Low. (2017) Out 1 or Suspended Meaning (essay by Suzanne Liandrat-Guigues).I translated French essay into English in collaboration with Peter Low: The Cine-Files.

Wiles M. and Low. (2017) Rivette and Strong Sensations (essay by Hélène Frappat).I translated French essay into English in collaboration with Peter Low: The Cine-Files.

Wiles M. and Low. (2017) The Act and the Actor (essay by Jacques Rivette).I translated the original French text into English in collaboration with Peter Low.: The Cine-Files.

Oral Presentations

Wiles MM. (2015) Documentary Portraiture in Vincent Ward's 'In Spring One Plants Alone'. San Francisco State University, CA, USA.

Wiles M. (2014) The Coming-of-Age Girl. Christchurch, New Zealand: Platform Arts Festival 2014.

Wiles M. (2008) After-film discussion: The politics of Jacques Demy. Canterbury Film Society, Christchurch, New Zealand: Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

Wiles M. (2007) Moving Backstage: The Films of Jacques Rivette. Melbourne Cinematheque, Melbourne, Australia: Jacques Rivette Retrospective: The Fantastic Realism of Jacques Rivette, 06 Nov 2007.

Other

Wiles MM. (2016) "Episode 279: Celine and Julie Go Boating" The Projection Booth. [Podcast interview].

Wiles MM. (2012) Speaking of Jacques Rivette. The Cine-Files Spring 2012(Issue 2) Savannah College of Art and Design, USA. [Written interview].

Wiles MM. (2011) Douglas Morrey and Alison Smith, Jacques Rivette. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2009, xi + 271pp. Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television 31(2): 314-316. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01439685.2011.578905. [Book Review].

Wiles MM. (2010) "A Gentle Voice in a Noisy Room": An Interview with New Zealand Filmmaker Gaylene Preston. Senses of Cinema(56) [Interview].

Wiles M. (2008) Marked Women. Illusions 40(Winter 2008): 54-55. [Review].

Wiles MM. (2007) Dr Mary Wiles and the Films of Jacques Rivette. 3 Jun 2007 SBS Radio, Melbourne, Australia. [Podcast].

Wiles MM. (2000) Book Review of "The Girl: Constructions of the Girl in Contemporary Fiction by Women". Modern Fiction Studies 46(2): 565-567. New York.

Exhibition/Curatorial Exercises

Wiles MM. (2011) Gaylene Preston Film Retrospective. Te Papa Tongarewa, Museum of New Zealand. 22-24 Oct 2011. [Curator and catalogue editor].

Review and Refereeing

Journal of Musicological Research ( 2009 )

Studies in French Cinema ( 2017 - 2022)

The Karma of Indenture: A for Apple ( 2014 )

Affiliations

Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) (Professional Organisation): Member

Future Research

feminism
theatricality, film, gender

Key Methodologies

French New Wave film
Feminist film theory
Psychoanalysis
Queer theory